After The Truth Happened
by crazytomboy78
Summary: Set after 'Tales of Suspense'. Pepper is still shocked at Gene, Tony is shocked that his father is apparemtly alive and captivated, and Rhodey....is normal. Will Pepper open her eyes to see what she and Tony have? Will Tony do the same? Pepperony! R&R plz
1. Secrets Are Still Being Kept a Secret

**After The Truth Happened**

**Chapter 1**

**Secrets Are Still Being Kept a Secret**

They were all ok. Tony turned out to be right, everything was going to be ok. So why is he still on a mission? He knows what he has to do now, but why? Why him? He wanted to know so badly. He sat on his bed alone. he wanted this to all be over, he wanted a break from being Iron Man. He wanted to relax, but he knew he couldn't.

"My father is alive. And I know ill find him." He slowly stood up and headed for his dresser to get a clean shirt, and started to clean up for school. Now that he thought of it, there were a lot of secrets there. Gene and his step-dad both being the mandarin, Tony being Iron Man, Pepper got so hurt……

He walked out the door of his room and into the kitchen to eat breakfast and meet Rhodey for school. Just the thought of school reminded him of how, if he did save his father, what would happen? Would he stop going to school? Would his dad get the company back? Life would change….again.

"morning, Tony." Rhodey walked in the kitchen and joined his depressed friend for breakfast.

"morning." Is all he could spit out. Just barely though.

"whats wrong?" Rhodey asked, curiously.

"just…..in shock, I guess. I cant believe he said….he has my father? And now I have to get him back. i-im just-well….i don't know. shocked and depressed?" he could barely explain, he didn't really even know.

"yeah, we discovered a lot more than the 5th ring in that temple. I can't believe Gene is the Mandarin." He said, simply agreeing. The room fell silent and they left for school.

The several events of news they got the previous day shocked the three so much that Pepper wasn't even talking as much as usual. She was depressed that she thought Gene-her friend, the one she thought was good, but started out _hating,_ was evil, and that she was right about his step-dad. She was right all along, and Tony never believed her. She couldn't blame him, though: they both fell into Gene's trap. That, and she also didn't know how she felt for Tony. It was like the world gave her another chance at Tony. Gene is an enemy, Whitney doesn't remember anything. What are these following events trying to say? That…..she possibly, just maybe, _liked_ Tony? Or….more? _**Love?**_ It's such a bold word, so strong. She tried looking into her heart, to see if it said love.

_I am trying  
Not to tell you  
But I want to  
I'm scared of what you'll say  
So I'm hiding what I'm feeling  
But I'm tired of  
Holding this inside my head  
I've been spending all my time  
Just thinking about ya  
I don't know what to do  
I think I'm fallin' for youart, to see if it said love._

She didn't know what to do. **(A/N:yes, I know, that's part of the song. Get over it!)** Before she Continued her next thought, she was interrupted by a voice. Not any voice-oh crap.

"Hey, Pepper." Tony's here. She was so busy at her locker thinking about all that _"what does your heart say?"_ crap that she forgot he went here. She was glad he couldn't read minds, so he doesn't know what she just went through. She still felt embarrassed.

"Hey, guys." She fake-chirped back to the pair, pretending to be her normal, annoying-in-a-good-way, talkative self. She failed. She couldn't be happy after she figured out someone she became a little too close to was evil. They walked off to class, but soon after, agreed to get over it for the moment and have some fun. So they did, they moved on. Until after school, when Tony decided that he was going to go to his lab and start trying to find Gene, so he could demand the location of his father.

"what happened to 'hey,guys. Come on, lets get over it for now and have a little fun?' " Rhodey terribly mocked and questioned his friend.

"I did say _for now _didn't I? If you want to come with, feel free to join me anytime." He stated his point, and left. Rhodey decided not to, so he could do his homework. Pepper decided she had nothing better to do, so why not?

Later, Tony and Pepper were alone in Tony's lab, trying to locate a power source of 5 makluan rings. The computer was still trying to locate after 10 minutes, so Tony decided he should charge his implant. As he carefully took off his shirt, all Pepper could do was stare. _What am I doing? Staring at him like this…..but I cant resist! Those abs…..his smooth looking skin….all that body. Why cant I resist?_ Pepper kept thinking, uncontrollably, about how hot Tony looked shirtless, and how the one moment he took his shirt off seemed like forever. Or, that's how long she wanted it to last, anyway. Tony noticed Pepper staring, and started to get curious.

"uhh…Pepper? What….are you doing?" he wanted to know why she was staring at him. _Maybe because im taking my shirt off right in front of her. But…ive done that before. Why is it now that shes staring at me?_ He really wanted to know.

Pepper blushed. Tony did, too. They both just stood there, in dead silence, red-cheeked. After a few minutes that seemed to last forever, Pepper answered.

"uuhh……umm….i……i-I was ahhh……..what's the word….uuhh…" she couldn't find a good excuse to spit out.

"st-staring a-at me?" he barely got out, it was so…..foreighn? they didn't know what to say.

_Sing us a song and we'll sing it back to you  
We could sing our own but what would it be without you?  
This heart, it beats, beats for only you  
This heart, it beats, beats for only you  
This heart, it beats, beats for only you  
__**My heart is yours**_

They stood there, drowning in their own silence. They didn't know what to say, _**at all. **_Finally, they broke the silence.

"listen, forget it I-" they said, at the same time. Tony continued.

"forget it, it's ok….i don't mind." He blushed intensely and turned to his computer.

_Power source of Makluan rings found. Power source is coming from Machupichu, Peru._ The computer said.

"computer, where in Machupichu are the rings?" Tony asked the computer.

_Power located in a hidden temple. Past reference says user has been to this temple before._ The computer responded.

_Update-power has moved. Relocating source._ Tony got annoyed. He sat back down on a ledge and the two were, once again, silent.

_I think we should talk. I cant go on living in silence with him like this. _Pepper stated, in her mind.

"uhh….Tony? should we talk or something?" Pepper asked, nervously.

_Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you_

One of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right  
I'm tripping on words  
You've got my head spinning  
I don't know where to go from here

"Uhh…..well sure. I guess, what did you want to talk about?" he responded.

Pepper gulped. She had to. Had to….

"about why were being so shy to each other when normally we can talk all the time?" Pepper responded.

"oh….uhh….err….well…..i guess it started when you were staring at me. Uhh….why were you staring at me, anyways?"

Pepper swallowed hard. "uuhh…..because…..you know, I guess I couldn't help myself? Maybe I'm…..you know?" Pepper really hoped he knew.

"Perhaps….some secrets are still secrets?" he stated back to her. There was a moment they spent just getting lost in each other's eyes. They didn't need words to explain what was happening, at that moment, when they seemed invincible, like they were on top of the world.

_Power source found in The Tong Building located in New York City._ The computer interrupted, breaking the moment.

"oh…I, uhh…better go there then…..its time for some questions." He said, anger filling his voice. He got into the armor, closed the mask, and headed off to question Gene. Pepper met him on the Com Systems.

"GENE!" Iron Man bursted into the building, shouting to his enemy. "you have some questions to answer." He sounded really angry, from Pepper's position. She thought it sounded like he was angry that not just because he lied, but that he hurt Pepper, and that just furiated Tony. She thought about what he said, '_perhaps some secrets are still being kept secret?' _what does that mean? Pepper suddenly felt something in her chest.

_Oh, is it love?_

What was it? It wasn't just in her chest, it was in her heart. A little voice fell into her mind."_put it together, girl! You feel like it's magic when you touch, at all. You cant ever stop staring at him. You felt on top of the world when he grabbed your hand!_ Pepper realized the shocking truth. She was in _**love. **_Soon after, Tony realized that Gene was gone now, and gave up for the day and left. But, for he did not know, the shocking surprise he got on his way back, or what was waiting for him when he returned.

Simple,

Wonderful,

Awaited,

**Love.**

He was in **love.**

He got back, and he got out of the armor, and the two just stared. All the sudden, they both made a move, and met in the middle….

Touching lips. Kissing. Brushing lips. Simply **loving eachother.**

_Your heart may long for love that is more near  
So when I'm gone these words will be here  
To ease every fear  
And dry up every tear  
And make it very clear  
I kiss you and I know  
It is love_


	2. Finding His Past and Fixing his Future

**Chapter 2**

**Finding a His Past**

He sat there. Breathless. Speechless. Motionless. Scared. She, however, was happy as could be. Of course, he was equally happy. But, he did not know what he just did. At all……_what was I thinking? No, no. it was good, admit it,I enjoyed it. That's why I kissed her. But why now? Because she's hurt because of what Gene did to her? To us?_

"Uuuhhh……well, I have to go…..homework, ya know?" Pepper said, just barely getting the words to fall off her lips, they flowed softly out into the air they had in between them. The little, so small area that wasn't invaded by arms, softly flowing onto eachother's bodies, wrapping around them as they kissed, just a moment ago.

"uuhh…yeahh….i have to…go sleep. And stuff….im a bit tired." He rolled his lame excuse to leave the love they left floating in the air.

"yeah…..uh…bye then…" she said, softly.

"wait-Pepper, are you, well, you know. Okay?" he wanted to know if what he just did would effect their friendship forever.

"well…..yeah….yeah I guess so, im fine." She felt ok, she felt like she had just been lifted to the top of the world. She felt like no one had ever hurt her the way Gene did. She still heard her soft, humble words rolling off her lips that day.

'_You have….me.' _What was she thinking? She knew that she started out **hating **Gene. And to say it right next to Tony? Oh, how she felt like a jerk for that. She hated herself.

"Tony? I….i'm sorry. You know, for... well….nevermind, I guess. Bye." She turned around, and headed out the door. Tony stood there, watching her leave.

"its….ok." he whispered, quietly enough so that no one heard him. Pepper stopped in her tracks, closed her eyes for a brief moment, then left. Tony just stood there, watching her leave.

Tony walked back home, to his room, soon after he started fixing the damage done to the war armor, and his burnt up, damaged lab. He came inside, passed the couch, where he saw a quaint little home living space. He closed his eyes as it reminded him of the fun him and his dad used to have in their own home. He walked into his room, which wasn't too far from there. He sat down on his bed, and his room fell silent. He just sat there, remembering what good times he had with his dad. He thought about how he could get it all back. He could run his company with his dad, he wouldn't have to go to school anymore, he could show his dad Iron Man. He would be so proud.

Suddenly, a calm, sincere voice interrupted his silent room. "Tony? You ok?" Rhodey walked in and stood next to Tony's desk. Tony laid himself down on his bed and softly spoke.

"Rhodey…..what Gene said…..he said he has my dad." Tony stared at the ceiling. He saw the face of his dad.

"What? He…..what? What are you going to do?" he knew, he had heard Gene say the words.

"I don't know what else to do besides find The Mandarin, and make him tell me where my father is." He let the news spill into the room. But, just because words are spoken, lifted into the air, does not always mean it defeats the silence falling into the room. Even though words were spoken, the room was silent.

"Oh. Wait….Tony….if you get your dad back, doesn't that mean that he can take you back? What would happen?" it was like Rhodey had just read his best friend's mind.

"I was wondering the same thing. I really don't know." They sat there, silent until dinner was called.

At the dinner table, Tony had no appetite for his food. He just stared at it, moved it around with his fork.

"Tony? What's wrong? You're awfully silent tonight." Mrs. Rhodes spoke up, in concern for the child she had taken in according to Her friend's will.

"well…..you probably won't believe me but….i heard from……somewhere, that my dad is alive, and this guy that my dad had written about in his diary, called the Mandarin, is…..holding him captive." He looked up at his care-taker.

"What? Tony, how did you hear this?" Tony looked over to Rhodey. All his friend did was signal him to just tell her.

"Well….it's a long story. Can it wait?" he looked back down on his plate, and soon after they finished dinner.

Later, the three sat on the couch in the Rhodes house, and started the long, condescending story.

"well, after my dad died, I got his diary, and read about how he was looking for these things, called the Makluan rings. He already had the first one, which Stane stole after my dad was, claimed to be dead. The Mandarin came, and stole that one. Soon after, I uncovered this new invention I had just made and was about to show my dad when the plane exploded. Have you heard of Iron Man?" he stopped to let her catch up.

"yes, I saw him on the news. No one seems to know anything about him. Do you know something about him?" she let him continue.

"well….yeah, that's what I wanted to show my dad. I invented the iron man armor, and I'm iron man. I started fighting villans, solving crime mysteries, all that. Then I met the Mandarin, and me, Pepper and Rhodey started finding the Makluan rings, using iron man's help. So, long story short, im iron man." He stopped, as his story had ended.

The look of shock slowly faded on her face.

"and where do you suppose you're keeping this….Iron Man?" she pretended not to be surprised. But she was.

"well, you know that abandoned wing that my dad never kept?" Tony asked.

"yes." She responded.

"Well, I fixed that into my own little secret lab. I have a big computer, and that's where I store all the armors. But the Mandarin's troop guys kind of blew it up, and I still have to fix it." He said.

"I see. Well, I don't know what to say, Tony. James, did you know about all this?" she asked her son, who quietly sat behind Tony the whole time.

"Yeah, Pepper and I both know." He answered his mother, honestly. He wanted Tony to tell his mom for a long time now.

They sat there silent. Soon, Mrs. Rhodes nodded, and walked away, leaving the boys to their business.

"So….where's Pepper?" Rhodey asked, after they walked to the lab, so Tony could work on it some more.

Tony got wide eyes and blushed. "Uhh……at…..home. she left awhile ago so she could….do…her h-homework…." He stuttered.

"Uh-huh. I see…and you're hardly being able to say this because, perhaps you two were sucking face earlier?" Tony was shocked.

"What? No.!" he didn't know why he was denying it. He should tell him. Rhodey looked at him with a look that said, 'Uh huh. Now tell the truth.'

"Huuuughhh……," Tony sighed. "Alright. Yeah. I guess we were. But then it got akward and she left. So that's when I walked inside." Tony admitted.

"Hah. I knew you guys would end up together." Tony's phone went off. It was a text, from Pepper. _Right on time._ He thought. It read:

_Tony, can I come back over so we can talk? I think I'm better for talking now. _

Tony looked at it for a minute longer, then responded:

_Sure. I'll be in my lab, come when you want._

Rhodey smirked. "what was that?" he giggled.

"Pepper wants to 'talk' so she's coming here." Tony said, worried.

"Alright then." He just smiled. Then Pepper walked in. "I'll leave you two alone now." Then simply, just walked out.

"Tony? Uhh….about what you said…" she started off, slowly.

"What did I say?" he continued, softly.

"The whole 'some secrets are still being kept secrets' thing?" she said, just barely.

"Oh…..yeah, that. Well, see, what I meant was…..that…..we might…..uuuuhhh…." he tried to come up with the words **be in love. **Pepper continued, symbolizing that she was part of his heart.

"We might, you know, be in…..love?" she practically whispered the word **love, **she was so nervous.

"Well….maybe……do you, you know, love me?" Tony asked.

"Well…..I….I-I….well, you know," she paused. "_**Yes.**_ Do you love me?" they could more easily say it, now that It was out there.

"Well, uhh……yes?" he said, the words starting to come smoothly and naturally off his lips.

"Well, then, does that mean that we're…?" she didn't have to finish, he knew what she was saying.

"Well, If you want to…..you know, because I kind of do…" he spoke, softly and perfectly calm.

"Yeah, actually, I do." She answered, uniting them like never before.

"well then it's settled. I guess were a couple now." He said, romantically.

"Tony, wait. What about Whitney?" she brought up a new question.

_She wears high heels, I wear sneakers  
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers  
Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find  
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time_

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you  
Been here all along so why can't you see?  
You belong with me

He looked deeply into her eyes for a moment, and started to answer her. "Pepper. I know you guys got off on the wrong foot, but I realized that all I want is you, okay?" Pepper got lost in his eyes.

"thanks, Tony." She smiled, and Tony brought his hand slowly into hers. Suddenly, a voice came out of no where.

_Incoming call from: Gene. Routing call to user's cellphone._

"What?" Tony said, shocked. He got his phone, and clicked answer.

"Hello?" he said, shakily.

"Stark. I suppose since I told you I have your father, you want him back, now don't you?" Gene stood in the Tong's prison, standing over the cells that were deep into the floor. He stood over one very special one. He then looked into it, revealing what he had against Tony: a dirty, slightly cut up Howard Stark.

"GENE! WHERE IS HE?" Tony shouted into his speaker.

"Calm down, Stark. I'll give him back to you, if you come to me and get him yourself. No catch." He said, looking into Howard's cell, practically saying it to Howard.

"yeah. There'd better not be a trick to it. Ill be right there." Tony hung up, and armored up, then left. Pepper got to the system computer and turned on the Com systems.

"Tony, where are you going?" she asked, calmly.

"getting my father back." He said back to her, rage filling his voice.

Hey ppl!!! That's the end of chapter 2. Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, but I have to go to bed.

**I give credit to the following songs:  
**-_you belong with me_ by Taylor Swift

-_falling for you _by Colbie Calliet

-_my heart _by Paramore

-_oh, it is love_ by Hellogoodbye

Thanks for reading and please review!


	3. Finding What May Change His Life

**Chapter 3**

**Finding What May Change His Life**

He knew he just ruined a really romantic moment. But hey, oh well. As important as that was, this is just as important. He wasn't going to say that finding his dad was more important than staying to 'embrace the moment' with his frie-uhh…... That's going to take some getting used to. But that's besides the problem right now.

"Where is he? Do you know?" Pepper claimed her take on the situation.

"I don't exactly know where he said to go. He didn't tell me. I'm just going to look in their building. It shouldn't be too hard; I've seen the place before." He said, sounding like nothing was ever a problem for him, but later turned out to be a bit of an issue.

"Well then. Did he have any catch to it?" making sure he wasn't hustling Tony for something he wanted for himself, that he knew he could get on his own. And it was true.

"No, he said there wasn't. But I don't trust him." He said, a little worried, a little sad, but (well obviously…) mistrustful. Proving that he no longer trusted who he thought was his friend. Tony, ignoring doors, burst through the wall of the building and started talking.

"Alright, I'm here. Where is he?" He didn't want to make time for socializing, so he just got to the point.

Gene heard Tony's voice come booming into the room, then muttered one quiet thing to himself.

"No, Stark. There will be an upside to this, but not just for you." Was what he whispered, then he walked out from a dark room, and revealed himself hiding in the shadow, dramatically.

**(A/N: yeah, it probably doesn't make sense. But you know those dramatic TV moments when people are standing in a shadow, and then they walk out of it dramatically? That's what I'm explaining here.)**

"So, Stark. You came for your dad, you got it. Follow me and I'll show you where he is." Tony turned his armor into a backpack, and then followed Gene. Soon, they got to a room with cages on the floors, leading to dark underground cells, half of them with people in them. Gene stopped at one on the end of a the row on the right side of the room.

"Well, here you go Stark." Gene moved out of the way so Tony could see into the dark cell.

There was a demeaning moment of silence as Tony looked into the cell that supposedly held his dad.

He looked in, and his eyes widened.

"Dad?" he was shocked. He tried holding back his tears as he saw someone he had never thought he would ever see again. Unil he, himself died, that is. But now, seeing his own dad like this, it felt so much different than before, now that he knew so much more.

"Tony! Son, is that you?" as soon as he heard that voice, he wanted to cry. But he was barely able to hold it in. For now, at least.

"Dad! Dad, are you ok? Hang on; I'll get you out as soon as I can!" He said as if he had hope poured into his life.

"Gene, get him out." He said, because for once, he didn't know something. Gene held back for a moment. He knew he had a plan. He didn't know why he didn't want to do it. He did remember what good friends he was with Tony, and to just let him down like that. He couldn't do it. He just handed Tony the key, and let him unlock his father, for he never truly had a good father like Tony did. And he just ripped him away from Tony. He let him go through just the same as what he, himself had gone through. How could he do that to him? His own friend. He was so ashamed. Tony unlocked the cell, and helped his dad out of the cell.

"Tony. It's so good to see you! Are you okay?" his dad said, wanting to know if his son was ok.  
"Yeah, dad, I'm fine," he started. "Let's go home. I still have something to show you." As they started to walk out, Gene remembered part of the plan. The Tong, they were going to attack them. He didn't know what to do. As he heard the sound of the rest of the Tong sneak around, he put on his rings, became the Mandarin, and suddenly became despicably evil and plain mean.

They were walking out when there was a crash behind them. They turned around to see about 50 people, dressed in a sort of black armor, ready to attack. Oh, shoot.

"Dad, stand back. I can handle this." He pressed the center button on his backpack, and armored up. Howard stood behind him, shocked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then the Mandarin appeared.

"Iron Man. I believe we have some unfinished business." A huge, raging battle came into play. There were lasers, comments, punches, flying, and everything there was to a high-powered fight. There were life-or-death moments, where it seemed like the end.

"Well, Mandarin, I've had about enough of you budding into my life and ruining it. So I'm going to end It here." He said, his voice filled with fury and anger. All the sudden, there was a bigger laser blast from the chest of the armor that knocked Gene's rings off, sending him into the still open cell that Howard was previously in. Tony flew over to the cell and locked it. He then went over to the 5 rings and picked them up.

"I'll take care of these."Tony walked over to Howard and his armor turned into a backpack once more.

"Dad? This is what I wanted to show you, that day on the plane. It's a suit of armor that I designed. We can get a better look at it when I put it away in the lab I fixed up in that old abandoned wing."

"Well, son, that's pretty impressive. Let's go then." They walked out, then Tony remembered that Pepper was still at the lab. He texted her and told her they were on their way back.

After they got there, Tony walked into the lab, Howard following behind, taking a look around. Tony walked over to Pepper and introduced her to Howard.

"Dad? This is Pepper. You know Rhodey already, he's coming here soon." Pepper waved, then whispered something to Tony.

"Wow, your dad is cool, Tony." She said, softly.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks" he whispered back.

"And this is my lab. Let me get the armor out." He walked over to where he stored the regular armor, and put it on the table he used to work on it so many times in his life.

Howard saw Tony's charger sitting on the keyboard for his computer.

"Tony, what is this?" he pointed to it.

"Oh, that. It's my heart charger. See, when the plane crashed, my heart was damaged. I survived because I put on the armor and put it on auto pilot. I got an implant, to replace my heart, and that's what I use to charge It." He explained, like it was no big deal.

"Oh, my gosh. Are you sure you're ok?" he said, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." He said, as Howard walked up to Tony and whispered,

"Say, Tony, is Pepper just your friend, or your girlfriend?" Howard whispered, seeing that they seemed to have a special connection.

"The second one." Tony said, whispering back. Then the door to the lab opened, and Rhodey walked in. when he saw that Howard was there, he stopped in his path.

"TONY! WHAT THE..?" He practically yelled.

"Oh, you know how Gene said that he had my dad? He was right; I'm showing him Iron Man now. You're just on time." He motioned Rhodey over to the table, and Rhodey just came over and joined them. They stood there, looking and explaining the features of the armor.

Later, Rhodey and Pepper gave Tony and Howard time to catch up with each other. They were walking to Stark International for a meeting, when Tony asked a question.

"Hey, dad? When we get the company back, what's going to happen to living with Rhodey, and going to school?" he looked at his dad, awaiting the answer.

"Well, do you like school?" Howard said, opening the front doors, shocking everyone else in the building when they walked in.

"Well I don't know. I memorized all my textbooks. Science is too easy. I guess it's okay." He said.

"Well, school can be your choice, Tony, but what I do know is that we can go back home. It's your choice, son." Tony just walked along, silent as they walked up to Trish's desk. Trish looked up, shocked.

"Hey, Trish, we have a meeting?" Tony said, ignoring the fact that she was so surprised. She lead them into the conference room, and the meeting


	4. The Meeting…Will His Life Change?

**Chapter 4**

**The Meeting…Will His Life Change?**

They walked into the meeting room, and saw Obadiah and the whole company board sitting in the room. They were all shocked to see that Howard didn't actually look like he had anything wrong with him. The two Starks sat down. And thus, the meeting began.

"Good Morning, Howard, Tony, nice to see you again." Obadiah said, quickly, so the board could get on with the day.

"Now, Mr. Stark, if you are willing to take back your company, sir, legally, Mr. Stane _has _to sign these papers, certifying that he will no longer own the company. It's up to you." The leader of the board, or, at least, the chosen speaker for the group, stated in a business-like tone. Howard looked to Tony, his only son, and only family he had, then made his descision.

"Yes, I would like it back. Obadiah was only chosen to replace me for two years, until he had to hand it over to Tony. Therefore, I should get my company back." He said, knowing his rules. Or, at least fair play. The board handed Obadiah a few papers, and showed him where to sign.

"Mr. Stark, do you still want Mr. Stane to work for you in his old position?" The Board asked, before letting Obadiah sign one last paper before Howard approved them.

"Well, that would put him out of a job. I'll keep him, and decide his new position later." Howard decided. Tony was shocked.

"Dad, what are you doing? You know he turned your company evil." Tony whispered, so no one but his dad could hear.

"yes, Tony. I know, but he didn't do it all himself. Ill trust him to be placed lower than he was before." Howard said, sounding like he always used to. Tony didn't care, he was just happy he had his dad back. He sat back in his seat, and relaxed until the meeting was over.

* * *

After the two got out, Obadiah was immediately sent to his new office, on floor three. He would just work down there, with the other floor three workers, who weren't as important as people on higher floors.

Tony was in his room, at Rhodey's house, in his room packing his stuff. He was going to move back into their old house, since his dad could take care of him again. Tony may have finally gotten his life back in order, but there was one last thing he had to decide.

"Tony? Need any help?" Pepper walked into his room and started helping him pack up.

"I guess if you want to, sure. But I wish you could help me decide whether to stay in school or not." Pepper immediately understood.

"Well, do you want to stay? Because, I enjoyed the time you were in school." She seemed to act like her opinion didn't matter to him.

"Well, I was thinking I would just drop out and go to work all day like old times. I knew I would drop out in 2 years, anyways, whether I was done with school or not. So hey, why not a little early?" he said.

"Well, will I get to see you?" she asked, wondering if he'd be too busy for her.

"Yeah, you can come by anytime you want. You know im never too busy for you." He said, putting lots of heart in his voice. Pepper smiled.

"Thanks." She said, and as Tony loaded the last box onto the truck, Rhodey came out.

"So, this is it, huh?" he said, sounding sad. Having Tony in his house made him feel like a brother. Now he had to get used to it all over again.

"Yeah, but it's not like im moving away. I'll still be here. You guys can come see me, and we can hang out anytime. I'll be here, all the time. And I'm still Iron Man." Tony smiled, and got in the truck.

"Bye, guys." He said, mostly looking at Pepper. Then he closed the door, and the truck drove away. Then Rhodey decided he would just do his homework, eat dinner then go to bed. Pepper just went home. She knew that this wasn't like Tony was moving forever, but it was a huge change. She would miss eating lunches alone with him on the roof, being in his lab alone with him. But he was going to show her his house tomorrow, and his lab at Stark International. She couldn't wait.

* * *

Tony and Howard had helped the movers put all the stuff back in Tony's room, and they were at their dinner table, eating their 'dinner'. Since Howard didn't completely know how to cook, they had to order out until their cook came back. They sat in a fancy room with white walls, a glass dining table, and shelves filled with old pictures of Tony, Howard and Tony's mom, and some of his mom's old knick knacks, from when she was still there.

"Well, this will have to take some getting used to." Tony said, as he finished his Chinese take-out, and threw it into their trash compacter.

"You got that right." Howard said. Tony decided to go to bed. He was going to fix up his old lab at Stark International before Pepper got there tomorrow. He remembered giving her the address.

_~Flashbackkkk!~_

"_Here. You can stop by this address, any time you feel like you miss me. Ok?," he held the little paper in his hands, then placed it in her hand, and closed her fingers into a fist, so she could forever hold it close to her heart. Pepper got tears in her eyes as she stood close to his face as they were outside with the moving van._

"_Because I love you, and there's no reason you should have to forget me." He looked deep into her eyes, seeing them say 'I love you much, much more.' Which meant she knew she didn't have to say it, he already knew._

~End Flashbackkkk!~

He was fast asleep now. He smiled, though, in his sleep. A deep smile that said he was truly happy now.

**The Endddd!!**

**

* * *

**

Hey peoples! Like, so what, that was the end, but theres going to be one more chapter, its going to be a tottaly romantic epilogue. Tony's gonna show Pepper around and-HEY!im gonna stop spoiling it now. Byeeeee!! :D**  
**


	5. Epilouge

**Epilogue**

Tony was fast asleep, in his room, at dad's house, when a loud alarm came on. It beeped intensely until a hand popped out of the covers and hit the snooze button. Then he checked the time. It was 9:40. Pepper would be here at 10:20. He got up, disabled his alarm, and walked downstairs.

"Good morning, Tony. Up early, I see." Howard said, quietly, as Tony grabbed a bowl for cereal, and poured some cheeriosinto it.

"Yeah, I promised Pepper that I would show her around." He said, pouring milk into his cheerios.

"Oh. Still coming to the lab? We do have some catching up to do."

"Yeah, I'll be there. I'm showing her the lab, too. Then we might go for lunch with Rhodey."

"Alright. Tony, I'm glad you're outgoing, just like I wanted you to be. That's good, im proud." Howard smiled.

"Thanks, dad." They continued breakfast in silence.

Tony was getting a little finishing touch done on his charger, which he now had installed in his room, when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and she was standing there, smiling.

"Hey, Pepper." He said, smiling.

"Tony! Hi! Oh my gosh, your house is soooooooo big. It's like, awesome!" She said, being her super-hyper, talkative self.

"Glad you like it. Let's go." Tony walked Pepper in, and they walked past the kitchen, where Howard was still reading the newspaper.

"Well hi, there. You must be Pepper, I take it?" Howard proclaimed, guessing correctly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you, Tony's dad!" She said, super exited. They then walked into the attic, so Tony could get just one more thing he needed, and told Pepper to sit tight for a second. So Pepper sat down on an old chair, and something on the floor next to her foot caught her attention. She picked it up. It was covered in dust, but she wiped it off to reveal the title: _Sonya's Photo Album._ Who's Sonia? She opened it to find out. The first page had the name Sonia on it, as a sort of title page. She turned to the next page to see a young, beautiful woman with long, flowing brown hair, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt with a v-neck going ending above the chest area, with a blue tank-top covering the showing skin underneath. With that, she had blue denim jeans and some chestnut boots. She was holding a little boy, who looked about 3 years old. He was wearing a red shirt and blue denim overalls with red stripes on each pant leg, and some little red sneakers. Pepper gasped. It was Tony, and that had to be his mom. She turned the page, and the same woman, and the same boy, about what looked like 10 years later. They were both so happy. She must have picked up a few pages. Then, she turned the page again, and everything was blank. No pictures, no colors, no words, no nothing. Just plain, blank pages. They did have titles written on them, but nothing else.

"That's back before she went missing." She heard a startling voice from behind her. She looked behind her and saw Tony lingering over her, developing a sad, longing look in his eyes.

"Tony…i-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have opened this." She said, trying not to sound like she was laying a guilt trip.

"No, it's ok. You were just curious. Yeah, that's my mom. These pages are blank, because when I was 13, we took that picture, we went home, and somehow, she didn't." He said, trying to blink back his tears. A single tear escaped and rolled down his face. Pepper stood up, and wiped it off. Then she hugged him for comfort. He hugged back, and it felt like magic. They released, and Pepper said one last thing before they went to go see the lab.

"Tony, I'll always be here, I'll never leave. I promise." She said, as they slipped into a kiss, then they walked out.

The two walked into Stark Industries, and as everyone said hello, they walked up to the top floor, where the lab was. Soon, they walked in, to see Howard already there.

"Hey dad." Tony said, walking to his station.

"And, ta-da! This is the lab." Tony exclaimed, letting Pepper walk around and see everything.

"Wow, Tony! This is soooo cool. NO, it's more than cool, It's amazing!" She said, putting a huge smile on her face.

"Well, that's because it's mine. Everything I own is awesome." He said, sounding superior.

"Don't get so full of yourself, son, I'm still beating you." Howard said, dropping into the conversation.

"Yeah, that was before I invented a suit of super-powered armor." Tony said, gaining championship once again.

"Well, Pepper, Rhodey should be meeting us for lunch now, so we should go. Bye, dad." Tony said, walking out, holding hands with Pepper.

When they came to a café, a few miles from Stark Industries, they sat down at a table and got smoothies, and waited for Rhodey. Then Rhodey walked in, and sat down with the two.

"So, how's life treating you at your old, old home?" Rhodey said, instead of a hello.

"Pretty good, so far." Tony responded.

"That's cool. Hey, are you guys, you know…..dating, now? Or whatever you want to call it?"

"Oh, yeah, that. We're-" But then he was interrupted.

"Yeah, we are. Tottaly!" Pepper finished.

"Oh. Cool. Dudes, I knew it would happen." Rhodey said, acting like he saw it from a different view than they have. Soon, they ordered lunch, and they sat in the café, talking. They reunited, and it seemed their lives have went back to normal.

**Epilouge……to the epilogue? Something like that.**

After, Tony and Pepper lasted all through Pepper's high school and college graduation. Pepper became a CIA agent, and spied on people that were being suspicious, like her dad. Tony soon took over Stark International, after his dad claimed to be too old for owning a busness. Tony moved out soon after Pepper got out of college and got his own home, in the residency part of the city. Pepper moved in with him, and took over her dad's job after he soon retired. They got married at age 23, and had 2 kids. One was a boy, and his name was Alexander, and he had reddish-pink hair that draped over his face, and wore a white, long-sleeve shirt with denim shorts, going down to his knees, and white sneakers. The other was a girl, named Eliza. She was 6. She had brown hair that went down to her collarbone. She wore a white long-sleeve shirt with a red tank-top over it, and denim jeans with red flip flops. Eliza was smart, but not Tony Stark smart. She got all A's in school, and had many friends. Alexander was the genius. He was only 8, yet he was already making his own cell phones, iPods, and other simple already-invented technology.

And as for Rhodey, he met a pretty gal in his senior year of college, but they're still dating. Rhodey lived in a nearby town, but it wasn't hard at all to get there. Tony and Pepper dropped their kids off there, whenever they needed a babysitter . And Uncle Rhodey was glad to be it. Their Aunt Whitney lived in a town called Auburn, but it was in the same state. They never saw her often, only for Christmas and New Years, only because Pepper still hated her so much. The only reason she hated her in high school was because she was winning Tony over. It was just pure jealousy. That, and she always rubbed it in Pepper's face that she was awesome and perfect, and she called Pepper Tony's pet.

And that, my friends, is the end. :D


End file.
